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Flooded house - mould and mushrooms growing!

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  • 21-07-2019 11:27am
    #1
    Morby
    Registered Users Posts: 530 ✭✭✭


    Someone I know is moving into a house that was completely flooded a year or two. The house has been since abandoned so there was never any cleanup or remedial works to deal with the flooding after.

    There's currently humongous mushrooms growing and sprouting up from between the floor boards and skirting.

    I fear that they would be growing underneath the floors where they can't be seen also.

    How best to tackle this and clean it up to make it habitable and safe again?

    I presume that mushrooms growing is NOT a good sign and there could be spores which could cause health implications.

    What professional service could they avail of to clean and kill the mushrooms? A pesticide / fumigation company of sorts?

    Any companies that specialise in this and / or restoring previously flooded homes?

    The people moving in seem to think its grand and that a quick clean and removal of the mushrooms will suffice, but I'm thinking there could be unseen potential health hazards and they'll need professionals in to make it safe.


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    #2
    Zenify
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Zenify


    Mushrooms growing is a sign the wood is rotten. I doubt this is a case of clean up. Probably more of a case of replacing.


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    #3
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 53,443 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    I'd be walking away to be honest. They could go in, spend a fortune gutting the place and the house could flood again next year.

    And good luck getting insured against flood damage.


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    #4
    Morby
    Registered Users Posts: 530 ✭✭✭Morby


    They're planning on replacing all the floors on the ground floor, they obviously need it, all the hard wood flooring and tiles are lifted and wood warped etc..

    They know they're taking a risk with the prospect of future flooding, but they've rang around a few insurance companies and given they eircode and the property isn't showing up as being in a flood plain or a flood risk, so looks like they'll be covered for the future IF it did in fact ever flood again.

    They're also planning on investing in floodgates for all the exterior doors as a safety measure.

    I'm more concerned about the growth of mushrooms inside the house personally.

    They reckon of they remove the flooring and and mushrooms currently there it will be fine, but I'd be worried there would be more fungi and mould underneath the flooring that can't be seen, invisible spores etc... And reckon the place would need to be fumigated or pesticides used, but I don't know if there are professionals who deal specifically with this in Ireland as I can't imagine it's too common?


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    #5
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,853 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    There are flood remediation specialists in Ireland, as its far from uncommon (and will get more common). Piles in Ireland from a basic search, I've no experience of any and recommendations by PM only, if the OP wants, please

    I'm not sure I'd be happy just knowing that insurers don't realise its a flood risk - unless there was a very specific cause that has been remediated its going to happen again and being insured doesn't stop the disruption or the likelyhood that insurance will then be refused. Dig around/ask around to find out the specifics of the flood.


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    #6
    Morby
    Registered Users Posts: 530 ✭✭✭Morby


    Good idea, if anyone can recommend any flood specialists, I would be more than happy to receive any PM's with same I can certainly pass them on.

    I don't know all the ins and outs, but from what they've said they've asked the insurance companies over the phone if they're covered for flooding and they've been told they are.

    The house hasn't been lived in, in many years and so was flooded whilst it was abandoned. So presumably there was never anyone who previously claimed for insurance due to flooding, hence it looking like it was never previously flooded or claimed for in the eyes of insurance companies.

    But again, I don't know exact particulars, only what they've told me.

    I definitely pass on the word to them to dig a bit deeper into the insurance situation and cause behind the flooding in the first instance.

    I do remember them saying in passing that remedial works are to be carried out in the general area in the near future in order to prevent it happening again, sort out the drainage but how soon is "soon" could be anyones guess.


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    #7
    Del2005
    Registered Users Posts: 18,915 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    If the house was flooded and left then the whole ground floor will be rotten and covered with whatever was it the water. They will need to gut the property up to the high water level and hope the building isn't compromised, then they will need new floors and dry lining.


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    #8
    Mrs OBumble
    Registered Users Posts: 25,731 ✭✭✭✭Mrs OBumble


    Del2005 wrote: »
    If the house was flooded and left then the whole ground floor will be rotten and covered with whatever was in the water.

    In some countries, if a house is flooded with sewage contaminated water, it's compulsory demolition. The council officials who enforce this aren't popular lads, but the rules are that it needs to be done - and with good reason.


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    #9
    Morby
    Registered Users Posts: 530 ✭✭✭Morby


    I actually asked them about this, if the house wasn't contaminated with sewage and filthy water, they said it wasn't that when it was flooded the water was crystal clear like spring water, coming from a nearby stream I think. So they seemed haply enough that there was non sewerage in the water and that the flood water was as "clean" as could be hoped for under the circumstances.

    They know they're taking a chance with the house, but they reckon the positives outweigh the negatives considering the price they paid for it and they love the location and house itself.

    I'd be a lot more wary and dubious myself but I hope it works out for them in the end.

    Thanks for the tip re: dry lining.

    I'm m pretty sure they are gutting the place or at least that's the plan anyhow as far as I'm aware.


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    #10
    awec
    Administrators Posts: 53,443 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭awec


    Do you have to disclose to insurers that a house you are trying to insure against flooding has been previously flooded?

    It's up to them really, but I think they're mad. The reason they're getting a good price is the fact that it is prone to flooding, as proven by the fact that it has actually flooded recently. It's not a theoretical thing.

    Imagine the stress every time it rains heavy.


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    #11
    Cuddlesworth
    Registered Users Posts: 13,981 ✭✭✭✭Cuddlesworth


    Morby wrote: »
    How best to tackle this and clean it up to make it habitable and safe again?

    Flood water usually has a damm high level of sewage in it, a lot of times in urban areas it is just sewage.

    Right after a proper flood where you have a foot or two of water sitting in the house for days, you would be looking at gutting everything back to a few feet above the water line or to the ceiling. I mean everything, kitchens, furniture, plaster, internal walls, floors, joists, wiring. Then you wash the bare brick, dry it out(heating and dehumidifiers to speed it up) and then start replacing everything. That what the insurance would pay for the first time.

    I don't think my old boss wouldn't even quote that for a house that had flooded properly and then just been left for a long time. They would just quote to knock it and build a new property. You have all that water just sitting there, enclosed in the house evaporating and condensing against the walls. All those mould and fungus spores sitting on every surface, behind every wall. All those wires/plugs sitting in corrosive water. The wood doesn't just rot, you get insects that come for the food and make homes in the rest of the house. You could trust nothing there.

    When they move in and the heat comes on, that place is going to become a biological breeding ground. It will start with the smell. Then the coughing. They will either tough it out or leave.


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    #12
    ELM327
    Registered Users Posts: 21,520 ✭✭✭✭ELM327


    That is, in all likelihood a knock down and rebuild job.


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    #13
    MrMusician18
    Registered Users Posts: 7,251 ✭✭✭MrMusician18


    They're not mushrooms, it's dry rot. Also known as building cancer.

    Walk.


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